


Much To Do About Loving

by collaborational, pellucidpilgrim



Category: Youtube RPF
Genre: Billy is a manipulative piece of shit, Fluff, Highschool AU, M/M, SCREW YOU BILLY, Theatre Class AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-21
Updated: 2016-01-24
Packaged: 2018-05-15 07:10:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5776315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/collaborational/pseuds/collaborational, https://archiveofourown.org/users/pellucidpilgrim/pseuds/pellucidpilgrim
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” - William Shakespeare</p><p>Jack's moved to Ohio in the middle of high school, which can be hard on any kid. After a chance encounter with theatre student Mark Fischbach, he decides to sign up for the class. He's expecting thrills. What he's not expecting is a rollercoaster of romance, heartbreak, and revenge. But hey, that's drama for you.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Cast and Crew

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “For man is a giddy thing, and this is my conclusion.”   
> Much Ado About Nothing, Act 5, Scene 4

A new school brought new changes, and Jack wasn’t quite sure if he was ready for that. Despite the fact that he was a very bubbly and enigmatic person, he was still quite awkward in the social department. The fact that the brick and stone building stretched three stories high, and was absolutely swarming with students, didn’t help matters one bit. Jack was optimistic, though; he always was. So he closed his eyes, took a breath, and started forward. 

Already he could see the cliques of different personality types. People grouped together in little clumps, chattering away, seemingly doing nothing but adding to the difficulty of navigating the halls. He knew his first step was getting to the headmaster’s office, or Jack guessed it was called the “principal” here. 

Would it have killed these people to put up signs or something? Jack looked around for a teacher or _someone_ to assist him. Nobody seemed particularly interested in aiding him. He bit his lip, fiddling with the straps of his backpack, and scuffled his high tops against the squeaky floor. 

Finally, someone else passing through took notice of him. “Hi there. You look...lost.” Jack turned to see a boy looking at him, a condescending little smirk on his face, making the Irish teenager feel very uncomfortable.The orange T-shirt he was wearing seemed to scream “caution” like all the signs on the streets. When Jack was asking for someone to help him out, he didn’t ask for a fucking serial killer, but he guessed that was just how his life went. 

“Uh, yeah,” he managed to say. “D’yeh know where th’ principal’s office is…?” 

The boy raised his eyebrows. “Has someone been a bad boy?” 

He stared incredulously, and he could feel blood rushing to his cheeks in surprise. _Well, fuck that._

Jack opened his mouth to reply, but then he heard another voice. “Billy, stop being a shit.” The teen whirled around in surprise. A tall boy stood there, with his arms crossed and face ready to integrate some facts into a facehole. 

He almost cried in relief, and resisted the urge to scream “save me” at the top of his lungs. The boy walked over, and towered over both Jack and Billy. “Go on, get out of here,” he snapped at the unfamiliar student. 

Jack watched as the shorter student’s face contorted into a glare, and he hissed, “This won’t happen again, Muyskerm.” 

“Sure it won’t. Now go.” The taller boy made a shooing motion with his hands. The boy scoffed and turned, but not without looking Jack up and down, which made the boy cover himself by crossing his arms. 

Once the smaller male had trudged away, Jack’s savior nudged him. “You okay? Billy’s a piece of shit, but he’s one of a kind. It won’t be a repeat occurrence.” 

Jack’s shoulders sagged in relief. “Thank god. Thanks…?” He didn’t have a name for the taller boy. 

“Oh! Right, I’m Bob. What’s your name?” 

“Sean. Call me Jack though; everyone I know does,” Jack exclaimed, smiling brightly. “Great to meet ya!” 

Bob chuckled and adjusted his glasses, then extended his hand for Jack to shake. “Where did you say you were heading again?” 

“Oh yeah! Th’ principal, or wh’ ever ya call yer headmaster,” Jack said, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. 

“The principal’s office is like, right inside the front door. You walked right past it.” The taller boy smirked in amusement. “Here, I’ll take you there.” 

Jack groaned. “Actually fuck me in th’ arse,” he exclaimed loudly. 

“Careful, there’s some people here who might take you up on that offer.” 

Jack facepalmed, running his hand down his entire face. “I speak without thinkin’ a lot.” 

“That’ll make for some interesting class discussions.” Bob chuckled a bit. “Follow me, it’s not far.” 

They just started heading their way towards that area when they heard a crash. **_“Mark Fischbach!”_**

Jack looked around curiously. “Wot the hell…?” Bob groaned, rubbing his temples. 

“Oh god, here we go.” 

He didn’t like the sound of that. Jack attempted to ask Bob what exactly he meant by that, but was interrupted by the sound of a nearby door slamming open. A teacher covering her chestal area was dragging a dark haired kid by the ear, pulling him in Bob and his’ direction. The distinct smell of burning cloth filled the air. Jack could hear the yelling of the teacher as she pulled the other student closer, obviously going in the same direction they were. 

“Wot’s goin’ on?” he asked Bob, frowning in confusion at the display. “Who’s that?” 

“That,” Bob stated, “is Mark Fischbach. He’s a senior, one of my best friends, and a fucking moron.” 

“-chemicals all over my shirt, you knew this would happen, didn’t you-” 

“-no, teacher, I swear, I’m SORRY-” 

The teacher stopped as soon as she spotted Jack and Bob. “Hello, Bob!” she said cheerily, her tone changing drastically. 

“Uh… hi, Miss Sherman,” Bob greeted. “Anything I can help you with?” 

“Um, yes actually!” she said, stopping next to him. “I need to go change my shirt, because Mark burned a hole in it ‘accidentally’.” Miss Sherman gave the offending student’s ear a nasty yank, prompting a yelp. 

“I told you, I didn’t do it on purpose!” Mark whined. “I’m sorry!” 

“You’re only sorry because you got caught,” Miss Sherman said scathingly, glaring down at the student she held in her grasp. 

“Well, I can take Mark,” he offered. “You go fix your shirt.” 

“Oh, you’re already headed there?” she asked, then noticed Jack standing there like a small awkward bean. “Who’s this?” 

“Go ahead, introduce yourself.” 

This was not how Jack was picturing his first day here. He cleared his throat. 

“My name’s Jack. I jus’ moved here from Ireland. First day an’ all,” he chuckled quietly. 

“Well, it’s nice to meet you,” Miss Sherman greeted warmly. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to fix this little troublemaker’s mess.” 

Jack nodded quickly. “Ya do that, miss.” 

She finally let go of the student’s ear and hurried back down the hallway. 

Mark straightened, rubbing the side of his head. “Thanks, Bob, I owe you,” he muttered. Bob sighed, shaking his head. 

“You don’t owe me anything. Just being the awesome person I am and rescuing you when you fuck up.” Jack let out a laugh at that. 

“So, you’re new here, then?” the newcomer inquired, turning to face Jack. The Irish boy finally got a good look at the kid for the first time. 

Mark had almost the same haircut as he did, except the floof on the top of his head was a deep dark blue opposed to Jack’s toxic green. His dark eyes were warm and soft, and they crinkled up a bit when he smiled, like he was doing now. His smile was Jack’s favorite feature; it was bright and warm and it was like sunlight, bathing Jack in his optimism. 

His heart skipped a beat, stumbling over itself in its effort to comprehend just how drop-dead GORGEOUS this guy was. Holy shit. Jack fixed his hair subconsciously, trying to make himself at least a bit more decent in his grey sweater and khaki trousers. 

“Uh… you alright there?” Mark asked him. Jack suddenly remembered that he’d been asked a question. 

“Y-Yeah, yeah, sorry ‘bout that.” He let out a nervous chuckle, mentally hitting himself in the face repeatedly for not answering the question sooner. 

Mark shrugged his shoulders. “It’s alright. Nice to meet you. I’m Mark.” He stuck out his hand. 

Jack reached out and grabbed Mark’s hand. It was soft to the touch, and it made Jack fall in love even more. “I assumed, from th’ way Miss Sherman was screamin’ yer name.” 

Bob chuckled, and Jack blushed as he realized what he said. “NOT LIKE THAT, YA PERVERT!” 

Mark started laughing as well. “You made me laugh, new kid. I like you already.” He winked, and Jack could literally feel his heart stop. 

This guy was probably going to be the death of him, he realized. Jack was strangely okay with that. 

“Right, we’d better get the new kid and the troublemaker down to the office,” Bob said cheerily, making Mark squawk indignantly. 

“Troublemaker? I am a saint!” 

“Try telling that to Miss Sherman!” 

Jack chuckled, placing his hands in his pants’ pockets, watching the two friends interact. “How long have ya known each other for?” 

They took a moment to think before answering. 

“Quite a while, actually,” Bob said, humming. “I think seventh grade or so. I remember because I got gum stuck in Mark’s luscious locks.” 

“I had to shave it all off!” Mark told him, looking hurt. “It looked like a shark fin!” 

“That was your fault for getting in my face and scaring me!” Bob defended himself. Jack barked out a laugh, smiling at him. 

“W-well, you shouldn’t have been chewing gum in school,” Mark said testily. 

“Mark, there’s this thing called your anus. Shove your opinion up there for me please.” 

A loud ringing noise cut off the conversation. The chatter in the hallways suddenly increased in volume as people began to head inside.Jack suddenly felt anxious; Mark and Bob had to get to class, so how the fuck was he going to get to his destination? 

“I really don’t think Miss Sherman will want to see me in class after what happened,” Mark said quickly. “I’ll take him. You go on, Bob.” 

“Thanks, troublemaker,” Bob said, laughing as Mark flipped him off. “Have fun, you two. Don’t blow up the school.” 

“That was ONE TIME!” Mark snapped, running his hands through his hair. Jack stared bemusedly at him. 

“A-are ya gonna explain, or…?” 

“You had to be there,” the American assured him. Jack rolled his eyes but dropped the conversation, thinking of other topics. 

“What do you like to do for fun?” the green haired boy asked Mark, cocking his head slightly. 

Mark paused to think for a moment. “Well, besides playing video games until three am in the morning, I’m in theatre class for my elective.” 

“Ya seem like a theatre person.” Jack stated, smiling at Mark. “Dude, I love video games too!” 

“Really?” Mark let out a surprised laugh. “I should have you over sometime!” 

Jack blushed slightly at that thought, but shook it off. They only just met, after all; Jack really didn’t need to rush into things like that. It was hard though, because Mark was so...cute. His whole personality reminded him of a Golden Retriever puppy. 

“Oh, here we are.” Mark stopped walking. Sure enough, a large door with the word “PRINCIPAL” emblazoned across it in bold black letters stood just inside the entryway. 

Jack slapped his face again. “How th’ FUCK did I miss that?” Mark let out a laugh, shrugging. 

“Maybe you need to borrow my glasses,” he teased, poking Jack’s arm. 

“Let’s jus’ go in an’ get my schedule,” Jack fumed, scarlet-faced. He stepped forward towards the office, leaving Mark to trail after him, still chuckling. 

The office was decorated with black bears and dark mahogany wood. Quite literally, figures of black bears were stacked upon shelves and on the secretary's desk, making Jack wonder truly what the ever loving _fuck_ was wrong with people in Ohio. 

He turned to ask just this question to Mark. The other boy didn’t have the time to answer. Suddenly, another dark haired man walked in, except this time with a very obvious beard. He saw the two boys and then sighed as his eyes landed on Mark. 

“What did you do this time?” He asked the boy in monotone. 

Mark huffed in exasperation. “Why does everyone assume that I’m the one getting in trouble?” 

“To be fair, ya did burn that hole in the teacher’s shirt…” 

“I didn’t have to tell him that! Now he knows!” 

The man raised a questioning eyebrow. 

Jack let out a giggle and the principal rolled his eyes. “I rest my case,” he said, turning to Jack. “I’m guessing you’re Sean?” 

Jack nodded, smiling softly. “That be me, sir.” 

Mark blinked. “Wait. What?” He whirled on the Irish boy. “You told me your name was Jack!” 

“It is. Sean’s my actual name; everyone jus’ calls me Jack. It’s simpler,” he shrugged. 

“Hmph…” The other boy crossed his arms. “How does that even work? ...you know what, I don’t want to know.” 

The principal extended his arm out to Jack, who shook it. “I’m Principal Morrison,” the man greeted. “On behalf of the entire school, welcome to UT Academy.” 

Jack beamed. “It’s nice ta meet ya, sir.” 

“Now, once I write Mark a detention slip-” Mark groaned- “I can get you your schedule.” 

“Thank you sir!” Jack said gratefully, smiling widely. He didn’t notice the boy next to him staring at his smile with a blush, but Principal Morrison sure did. He let out a little chuckle before continuing. 

“Let me print out your schedule, then I’ll get your slip Mark,” Principal Morrison said, typing something into the computer, then reaching by his desk and grabbing a slip off a small stack of paper, handing it to Mark. “I’ll see you next time.” 

Mark shoved the little pink slip into his pocket with a grumble, then waved to Jack. “See you around!” He turned and dashed out the office door. 

A buzzing filled the air as the printer announced to the whole world that it was printing Jack’s schedule. Principal Morrison stood and snatched the white sheet from the tray, handing it to the new student. “Be sure to check it over, I don’t want any mistakes.” 

Jack scanned the sheet. Everything was in order. English, maths, science, history, and art, with band as his elective. 

Then he thought about Mark. The kid had told him that he was in theatre as an elective, right? 

A daring plan began to unfold in his mind. “Ah, sir?” 

“Hm?” The principal glanced over. 

“I-It says I’m in band,” Jack stated. Was he really doing this? He loved to play the drums. He was really going to give all that up for something he’d never done before, to impress some kid he’d just met? “I, uh, signed up fer theatre.” 

“Really? I didn’t take you to be a performer!” Principal Morrison smiled. “It should be an easy fix. You’ll just need to wait a few more minutes while I rearrange your schedule and let the right teachers know.” 

A knot began to form in Jack’s stomach. “Y-yeah,” he managed. “Sounds great.” 

_What was he getting himself into?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a collaborative work between writers collaborational and pelludicpilgrim. They both hope that you sit back, make sure your popcorn bucket's full, turn your cell phones to silent, and enjoy the show!


	2. Casting Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Speak low, if you speak love."  
> Much Ado About Nothing, Act 2, Scene 1

Jack looked from his schedule to his map. He was pretty sure this was the right classroom. Well, classroom wasn’t quite the word for it. He was standing in front of the main entrance to the auditorium. The doors were the same old grey steel, but he knew there were much more colorful things on the other side. 

He reached out a hand to push one open. He saw it before it even happened; there was a bump in the railing marking where the door stopped. The metal door swung open, much farther than he expected. Jack yelped and stumbled. But instead of the hard, cold floor he was expecting, he felt a pair of lean, warm arms and a fit chest. 

“Uh… hi?” 

The Irish boy blinked and looked up. Blue met brown. Oh, that was just fucking fabulous. He’d faceplanted into the chest of none other than Mark fucking Fischbach. 

“U-Uh, hullo there,” Jack mumbled, quiet for the first time in his damn life; his mum would be so proud of him. 

The two stared at each other for a while. Neither could think of anything coherent to say. That is, until Jack’s mouth thought before his mind. 

“Well, guess I’m just FREEEEEE, FREE FALLIN’!” 

_Fuck._

Mark burst into laughter, losing his grip on Jack in the process. As he convulsed with amusement, the Irish teenager finished the descent he’d began a moment ago and slammed into the floor. The only thought Jack had at that moment was that this was a pretty shitty way to die. Wallowing in his own self loathing, he didn’t notice Mark with his eyes full of tears from laughter, clutching his stomach like he’d just been shot. 

“If you two are DONE,” a loud voice complained, “the REST of us are TRYING to have class.” 

Jack winced. He knew that voice. 

Billy, the ginger devil himself, was seated at a chair, glaring at the two like something on the bottom of his shoe. Jack groaned to himself and pushed himself up with his arms, landing on his butt onto the floor. He saw something in his peripheral vision and looked up to see Mark holding out a hand to him. The teenager turned pink, but gratefully took it, and let himself be pulled to his feet. The blue haired teen smiled at him. 

“I thought you were in band, Jack!” All eyes were on him. 

“E-er, well… I decided I wanted ta be in theatre instead,” he said quietly. “It looked fun.” 

“And you would be right to think that,” a voice said. Jack turned around to see a sandy haired man watching them with his arms crossed, a small smile on his face. “Welcome Jack. Ken-I mean, Mr. Morrison told me you’d be here.” 

“O-oh. He did?” Right, the principal had mentioned notifying his teachers of the schedule change. “Yeah. Er, hullo…” 

“Hi, Jack! I’m Mr. Kjellberg, but my students just call me Felix, or Pewds. Don’t ask why, I couldn’t tell you either.” 

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Kjellberg,” Jack said politely. 

“So, why don’t you introduce yourself to us, Jack? Tell us about yourself.” 

Jack groaned internally. He’d been doing this all day, with every single teacher insisting he come up and present himself to the class. 

“Okay. Well, I’m Jack McLoughlin. I’m from Ireland; I jus’ moved here a couple o’ weeks ago. Um, my favorite color is red, not green, weird right? I like video games a lot, I play them constantly, my mum considers it a bit unhealthy. I heard ‘bout theatre from Mark an’ thought, ‘why not?’. So, uh, here I am. Yay.” He raised his arm and swung it, smiling real awkward like. The motion earned grins and a couple of snickers from the small class, with a snort of disdain from Billy. Felix smiled widely, clapping his hands together to silence the class. 

“Okay, since you know Mark pretty well, I’ll let you stick with him and his friends today. You’ll actually get to see some performing today, from three of our best.” 

“Who would that be?” Jack questioned, honestly curious to know. 

“Let’s see...Mark, Ryan, and Daniel.” The three boys perked up as their names were called. Jack blinked at Mark, who grinned in a rather terrifying fashion. 

“Yer one of th’ best?” 

“Hey! I’m actually the captain of the theatre troupe! Don’t doubt my abilities, DOUBTER,” he said in a weird voice, poking Jack’s side. He let out a surprised giggle. Mark raised his eyebrows and smirked a little, like he'd just found out something very exciting. 

_Oh no._

“Well boys, are you going to do it or what?” Felix asked, smiling a little too knowingly for Jack’s comfort at the sight. Mark turned serious and nodded, motioning to his friends sitting down. 

“Go have a seat next to Bob and Wade; you’re about to see some goddamn acting.” 

Jack was more than happy to sit down next to the two waving at him. He recognized Bob, but didn’t know the kid sitting next to him. 

“Hi! I’m Wade, it’s nice to meet you!” the unfamiliar boy said to Jack. The Irishman smiled and shook the hand that was out to meet his. 

“Hi Wade, it’s nice to meet ya too!” 

Now, Mark and the other two boys were onstage in a huddle, obviously going over some last-minute reminders. Jack leaned forward in anticipation. This was going to be interesting. 

The piece was called Danger in Fiction, the second one apparently. Bob told him the backstory quietly. Apparently, Mark was a psychopathic author with the gift to make whatever he writes actually happen, and he used Daniel as a subject, but the boy went insane. So now, in this one, the author uses Daniel’s roommate, played by Ryan, instead, but shit happens. 

“Shame I wosn’t here fer th’ first one!” he whispered to Bob. 

“I know, it was hilarious!” 

The lights dimmed, and the hushed conversations filling the auditorium ceased altogether. A bright light shone on the stage, revealing Ryan in an urban environment, watching television. Events began to unfold, and the actor found a strange notebook. The lights flicked out once he opened it, and then came back again, albeit rather dim. 

Mark’s voice seemed to fill the auditorium as he narrated Ryan’s actions, and Jack sucked in a breath. The humor of the play was almost lost on him because he was too busy listening to the sound of Mark rather than what he was actually saying. 

Finally, Mark showed his face, and Jack would definitely be lying if he said he didn’t find it attractive. 

He was wielding a bat, hitting it against his hand repeatedly, his gait appearing powerful and confident as Mark talked to Ryan, who was tied up against his will. His smirk on his face made Jack’s face red and burn like the sun. Felix wasn’t kidding when he said Mark was one of the best. 

A loud bang jolted the audience, and Jack resisted the urge to scream out as Mark hit the stage facedown. Daniel was standing there, breathing heavily and holding a gun prop. The Irish teen forced himself to relax. It was only a play. It was only a play. Bob noticed and gave him a concerned look, which Jack just smiled reassuringly in return. He didn’t want Bob fussing over him being scared over a stupid prop. 

The ending, though, made him snort as he watched Ryan and Daniel shart on dying Mark’s face. 

“This is so typical Mark it fucking hurts to watch,” Bob muttered, which made Jack giggle even more. It was definitely Mark’s flair. 

Finally, the three came to the front of the stage and took a bow, to thunderous applause. Jack got up and clapped alongside the others until his hands hurt. Jack thought that the skit was amazing; the script flowed perfectly and it had enough humor that it didn’t hurt the dramatic parts, until the ending, that is. It was unexpected, though, and that was what made it hilarious. 

The three came offstage and went over to Felix, who traded a few words with the trio. They came back with smiles on their faces. Jack smiled widely at them, his hands intertwining with each other in front of his chest. 

“That wos amazin’!” He said excitedly, bouncing up and down on his heels. “Yeh all did so well, holy shit man!” 

Mark smirked. “Tell me something I don’t know, Jackaboy.” 

Jack rolled his eyes but blushed softly, shoving Mark slightly. 

“Oh, bite me, Fischbach.” 

Mark laughed, gently pushing Jack back. The actions quickly devolved into a shoving match, pushing up against each other and snickering. Jack then felt fingers tickling his sides, and he tensed. 

Mark _wasn’t._

Rest assured, the blue haired boy started tickling Jack, fingers crawling up and down his sides. Jack let out a howl of laughter, trying to get away. 

Before he could reciprocate, however, another entity forced itself between him and Mark. Jack was roughly shoved away. “W-wot-?!” 

A frowning Billy was standing between the two boys with colorful hair. “Alright, break it up,” he spat. 

Mark let out a sigh. “We were just having fun! What’s the matter with that?” 

“We’re in class! You need to tone it down!” 

“Stop being such a turd, Billy,” Bob called. 

It was going to get nasty, Jack could tell. He took another step or two back. 

Thankfully, help arrived in the form of Felix. He swooped down on the bickering students faster than any of them could realize. “Hey, what’s going on, bros? Is there a problem?” 

“Not anymore,” Billy assured the teacher. Mark shot him a poisonous glare. 

“Well, alright.” Felix looked worried, but dropped the subject. “I think that’s all the skits that we’ve had to grade for this project, so that means it’s time to head straight into this year’s school play!” 

The atmosphere improved significantly at that. Everyone perked up, and even Jack found himself getting excited. 

“We’re doing Shakespeare this year, right?” one kid called. He had a wild, frizzy tangle of hair that kept getting in his eyes. “Which play? Romeo and Juliet?” 

“God, I hope not,” Billy muttered. He pantomimed puking. “Blegh, sappy love story.” 

“Dude. Six people died and it lasted three days,” Wade pointed out. 

“No, no, nothing as tragic as that,” the teacher assured. “We’ll be focusing on one of Shakespeare’s more comedic works this year!” 

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream?” Bob offered. 

“Not quite. UT Academy’s Theatre Troupe’s production of the year will be Much Ado About Nothing.” 

The whole class cheered, and Jack cocked his head a little. “Much Ado ‘Bout Nothin’? Wot’s that ‘bout?” 

Mark gasped, clutching his shoulder. “You don’t know what Much Ado About Nothing is? Dude, where are you from?!” 

“Ireland. We’ve established this. An’ from a school that didn’t care much fer Shakespeare.” 

“Dude, it’s like one of his best ones!” A smile lit up his entire face. “Okay, so there’s Claudio and Hero, who are in love with each other, and there’s Beatrice and Benedick, who hate each other but secretly love each other, so Benedick and Beatrice’s friends try and set them up, and this guy Don Jon tries to break up Claudio and Hero, and it’s super funny because there’s a lot of puns and arguing and it’s GREAT!” 

He’d said that all in one super excited breath. Jack couldn’t help but chuckle. “I’m gonna need ya ta repeat that at like twenty percent speed!” 

Mark blushed. 

Bob snickered, and turned to Jack. “You’ll learn about it as we go along. You should try out, it’ll be fun!” 

Jack barked out a laugh. “Oh hell nah, man. I’m not really a performance kinda lad. I jus’ help backstage an’ shit.” 

Felix gave Jack a smile. “Hey, you were the one who signed up for theatre. You should at least give acting a shot. You never know!” 

Jack hummed, thinking. “I don’t, but… I’m not good. Not yet, anyways.” 

“You’ll learn,” Mark told him encouragingly. He put an arm around Jack, making the smaller boy turn pink. “Trust me, it’ll be lots of fun!” 

Jack knew for a fact that he wasn’t very good with attention. Sure, he could be loud, but he didn’t really appreciate the looks that people tended to give him. Being on stage would be a fucking nightmare. 

“O-okay. Sure.” 

Mark smiled, making Jack’s stomach lurch in a strangely pleasant way. “That’s the spirit!” 

Felix came over to him, and placed a hand on Jack’s shoulder. “Despite this, I do want to see where you stand. You could just have a natural talent for acting, and you just don’t know it! Do you mind doing your first assignment? It’s not a grade, I just need to know what I can work on.” 

“Well, alright,” he said after a moment’s hesitation. “Wot do I have ta do?” 

Felix handed him a couple pieces of paper. “I just want you to sight read this comedy piece. No prep, nothing. Nothing too hard, pretty simplistic in its self. Just run through it.” 

“R-right now?” he asked, blinking. Felix smiled at him reassuringly. 

“Don’t worry about other people making fun. I certainly don’t tolerate that here in this auditorium. The students all know this is your first try at this, and they totally get that you may not be the best.” 

“Well, alright…” A look over his shoulder revealed smiles and thumbs-ups from Mark, Bob, and Wade. Jack took the piece and walked to the stage, hopping onto the surface and taking a look around. 

The auditorium seemed to stretch out before him. Maybe a dozen or two seats were filled by the class, but that was still twenty-four pairs of eyes on him. He swallowed. 

Even though Jack was a very energetic and bubbly person, being up in front of people made him nervous; he didn’t want to disappoint anyone. Yet, he took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment. Maybe it was time he broke out of his metaphorical shell and starting doing things he didn’t normally do. 

Finally, Jack took a look at the papers he held in his trembling hands. He squinted a little bit at the words printed there. There was a small summary about the piece; it was mainly just about a guy who was just trying to get some milk but the apocalypse fucking happened. Scanning over it, he found it was funnier than the summary let on. 

Jack remembered a tip he learned from watching too many YouTube videos: try to get in zone with your character and feel what they feel. So, he took a deep breath, and started reading, remembering the small tip that you shouldn’t try to be funny, but rather just be yourself. Jack became this character. 

So after another moment of preparation, he acted his heart out. He exaggerated his movements and made himself loud, ensuring that the absurdity of the situation was not lost on the audience. He could hear snickers and giggles coming from the class, but he shut them out, focusing only on his performance. 

Finally, the piece was finished, and Jack slowly put his arms down, and took a deep breath, waiting for the harsh criticism that he was sure to get. What he got though, was definitely unexpected. 

Practically everyone in the entire class began to cheer and clap, jumping to their feet for a standing ovation. Jack was completely flabbergasted. He blushed, smiling giddily at the crowd. 

“Uh….thank ya?” Jack exclaimed, bowing awkwardly. He hopped offstage, and everyone immediately crowded around him, laughing and congratulating him on his performance. He was flustered by the attention. Finally, he saw Mark, Bob, and Wade run up to him with awestruck smiles on their faces. 

“Dude, what the fuck?!” Bob said, laughing happily. “What was that?” 

“Uh… actin’?” 

“Are you sure you’ve never done this before, man? ‘Cause you just achieved something it takes years of practice for some people,” Wade said, patting his shoulder. Jack shrugged and laughed bashfully, rubbing the back of his head. 

“Yeah, I guess…” He glanced over and saw Mark looking at him with a small smile on his face, eyes glowing with a feeling that Jack couldn’t place. 

“That was incredible,” Mark told him. “You’re… you’re amazing at this.” Jack flushed, smiling at him. 

“Pot callin’ kettle black here, man. Yer amazin’ too,” he said, but then he felt arms wrap around him in the form of a hug. 

“Just take the damn compliment,” Mark muttered in his ear. 

Jack groaned. “Fine.” 

A nasty clearing of the throat broke them apart, but Mark’s hands still rested on Jack’s shoulders. Billy was glaring at them, but he had a nasty smirk on his face. 

“...can we help you?” Mark asked, more than a hint of annoyance in his voice. 

“Well, I just wanted to say how ‘beginner’s luck’ that performance was,” Billy said with a false sweetness in his voice. “Mr. Felix gave you a pretty simple piece, nothing Oscar worthy or anything. Just so you don’t get a big head like your boyfriend over here.” 

Jack turned pink, but Mark let go of him to step towards Billy. “Jack did an excellent job up there today. He was scared, it was his first time, and he still put on one hell of a show! I think he deserves all the praise in the world just for the sheer fucking courage that took.” 

Billy shrugged, not phased by Mark’s obvious intimidation. “Suit yourself. I’m just saying; Jack doesn’t need to get a big head when clearly we all know who the best actor is.” 

“If you say it’s you, I’m going to punch you in the dick,” Bob said, crossing his arms. “You don’t get that much applause even on a good day, so don’t ruin Jack’s day by being jealous of him having more raw talent than you do in your tiny penis.” 

Jack snorted. Billy sneered. “Whatever. Acting isn’t such a big deal when everyone in the room can do it. Enjoy the praise while it lasts, I suppose. It’ll wear off eventually.” 

Once again, Jack’s mouth thought before his brain. “Wear off like th’ creativeness of yer insults? Maybe.” 

_Where the fuck did that come from?_

Billy growled and took a step forward. His hands clenched into fists. “You think you’re so smart, new kid-” 

Mark planted himself between the two. “You’re not laying a hand on him.” 

Jack took a step or two back. Things were going to get ugly, fast. 

Once again, Felix proved to be the peacemaker. He hurried over and pulled the two boys apart. “Hey, hey, hey!” He looked at the two of them. “What’s the deal here?” 

“Billy’s talking shit,” Bob offered. Jack nodded, still having a sort of panicked look on his face. Way to get into a fight the first day of school. 

“Well, break it up, alright? We’re all friends here, right?” 

“I don’t think ‘friends’ is the right word for Mark and Jack,” Billy teased. The Irish teenager jolted slightly. _Was it really that obvious?_

“Enough,” Felix said sternly. “Everyone, pack up your things. The bell rings in five.” 

He let go of Billy and Mark, and the two scowled at each other for a moment before parting. Jack went to scoop up his bag, never once noticing the odd expression on the face of the blue-haired teen. 

What a way to start a new year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We apologize for the wait. School, work, and our own separate fics tend to get in the way. But here we are with another chapter!


End file.
